GUILDERLAND — With the new year, town workers will get bigger paychecks.

The Guilderland Town Board on Dec. 7 unanimously approved three agreements — with Unit A and Unit B of Guilderland’s Civil Service Employees Association and with the Guilderland Police Benevolent Association — that will be incorporated into one final contract.

Each of the agreements runs for three years, from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2024.

The CSEA agreements have a 2.5-percent across-the-board raise the first year, a 3-percent raise the second year, and a 3-percent raise the third year.

Employees who are eligible for health-insurance coverage under the town’s program but choose to forego medical coverage will receive $3,500. “We’re increasing it to encourage that option,” said Supervisor Peter Barber.

Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery, has been added as a holiday.

“We also added a flex spending option to both the A and B units,” said Barber, explaining that it allows workers to defer their salary deductions.

In Unit A, which covers animal control and telecommunication, a just-hired animal-control officer in 2022 would earn $44,311; an officer in the job for five years would earn $54,223.

For Unit B, which includes the bulk of town workers, a newly hired administrative aid in 2022 would earn $45,694; an aid in the job for five years would earn $53,211.

The police agreement has a salary increase of 2.5 percent for each of the three years to be covered by the contract.

The agreement includes a shift differential so that officers working from 3 to 11 p.m. get an extra $1,200 annually and officers working from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. earn a stipend of $1,500.

Comptroller Darci Efaw explained that Guilderland has always had a shift differential for police but, formerly, it was handled in hourly pay rates whereas now there is a straight stipend for the year, divided into 26 payroll periods.

Councilman Paul Pastore asked about pandemic-related increases in pay.

Barber said that police and dispatch workers may have brought up enhanced pay.

“I think just because you wear a uniform that you are no more deserving of pandemic pay than people who work, like in Darci’s office,” said Barber.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Heard praise for two exiting board members. After 20 years on the board, Patricia Slavick did not seek re-election; after 16 years, Paul Pastore was defeated in the first-ever Democratic primary and lost his seat.

Both Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy joined the online meeting to issue proclamations and praise the pair. Barber called them “a dynamic team”;

— Agreed the town will be lead agency on the State Environmental Quality Review Act for National Grid’s proposed new gas main project along Route 146.

Barber said the bulk of the work, which will take place next year, will happen well off the road.

He also said that, two years out, the Route 146 bridge over the Normanskill will be replaced, probably narrowing the busy route to one lane. “That project is not going to be fun,” he said;

— Approved a tax certiorari settlement for 2020 and 2021 for a self-storage facility at 4773 Western Turnpike owned by RJR Units LLC and a self-storage unit at 2703 Curry Road owned by RKR Units with tax refunds of $1,313.06 and $394.78;

— Authorized Barber to act as the responsible local official to access the state transportation department’s Equitable Business Opportunities System and perform Title VI Civil Rights reporting requirements.

Barber said the DOT had requested one resolution covering all of their contracts. He said a dollar value has to be assigned to minority subcontractors;

— Set a public hearing for 7 p.m. on Jan. 18 on a local law that would change the town code to clearly state that the town owns its sidewalks. State law has changed on the matter, said Barber, explaining that some towns own their sidewalks while other towns don’t;

— Set standard work and retirement days for Amanda Beedle who was elected to the town board;

— Appointed August Jones III as a laborer in the town’s water department;

— Approved a collector’s warrant for the water department of $574,847.72; and

— Canceled its scheduled Dec. 21 meeting, meeting instead at noon on Dec. 16.